- LOS ANGELES -- Air America,
the left-wing talk radio network that began broadcasting just two weeks
ago to counter the conservative right's dominance of the AM dial, was reeling
yesterday after its service was taken off the air in Chicago and Los Angeles,
two of its biggest markets.
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- The interruption appeared to be the result of a contract
dispute between Air America and its owner, MultiCultural Radio Broadcasting.
MultiCultural's chief executive said the radio network owed him $1m (£560,000)
for a bounced cheque.
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- Air America said it had been the victim of a "despicable
act" that violated its contractual agreements. The network, which
has expanded from six affiliates to 16, strongly denied suggestions that
it was running out of money.
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- The fracas was highly disruptive for the new network
as it seeks to build a core audience and a steady flow of advertising revenue.
The 17-hour-a-day, five-day-a-week talk station features entertainers such
as Al Franken, the actress Janeane Garofalo, and the rap artist Chuck D.
-
- News that it had run into problems was greeted with glee
by conservative hosts on other stations, who have been the butt of countless
jokes and political hostilities on Air America.
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- Rush Limbaugh, the godfather of right-wing talk radio,
likened Air America's outlets to "1,000-watt blowtorches". Sean
Hannity, one of the most aggressive conservative voices on radio and television,
mockingly suggested that the only way liberals and left-wingers could secure
a place on the airwaves was if they were subsidised by the government.
-
- The dispute with MultiCultural has headed straight to
the State Supreme Court in New York, where Air America is seeking an emergency
order to put it back on the air. In its court filing, it alleged that MultiCultural
had gratuitously closed down the Chicago station where it said there was
no dispute and changed the locks on the station doors to "gain unfair
leverage" in a financial disagreement going on in Los Angeles.
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- The LA dispute centred on a tussle over air time between
Air America and an unconnected Spanish-language service, characterised
by Air America as a straight contractual disagreement that should go to
arbitration before the plug was pulled.
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- Air America's chairman, Evan Cohen, called MultiCultural's
behaviour "disgraceful". He said: "To shut off a broadcast
that listeners rely on without warning and in the middle of discussions
is the height of irresponsibility and a slap in the face of the media industry."
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- After a wobbly start, particularly on the first day,
Air America has settled into a distinctive pattern of provocative politics,
humour, and interviews with a veritable who's who of liberal America, from
Hillary Clinton on down.
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- Audience figures have yet to be published, but data on
its internet streaming branch suggest a high level of interest, boosted
in large part by widespread publicity in newspapers, on television and
on other radio stations.
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- © 2004 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=511873
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